Love, death, fire and ice in the fens – say hello to #darkearth

[This post was written for and first published on the Eastern Angles web site]

To Peterborough for the first reading of Forbes Bramble’s new play DARK EARTH which is being produced by Eastern Angles for a unique set of performances at FLAG FEN in September. Led by a professional creative team the cast and crew of the show are being drawn from the local community in and around Peterborough – to find out more about how you can get involved see here.

This weekend was what we called the Development Weekend for the piece. Two days of frenetic activity – led by the shows director Naomi Jones – culminated in the first full reading of the play.

It was very much a privilege to be there – to hear for the first time the characters of the story (set in the Fens in 1690) come alive. Even sat in the garden at Chauffeur’s Cottage you couldn’t help but be struck by the epic and dramatic sweep of Forbes play.

Theres love (and lust), buried treasure, a dodgy bishop, strange rituals merging with direct action (the kind the Occupy movement would have been proud of), one ancient body and two dramatic deaths. And then there is the star of the show – the Fen itself – always ever present in the piece but holding back her power until the final, dramatic ending.

It’s going to be an extraordinary performance – and just perfect to perform the work at Flag Fen – site of a preserved ritual causeway thought to date back to between 1350 and 950BC.

And if you are in and around Peterborough – there is still chance to get involved in so many different ways – as an actor, musician, costume/set maker, stage manager, tech crew. Auditions happen in just under two weeks (June 8 and 9) and rehearsals start in July.